Here
you can learn more about
the wonderful Liberty
Seated series
designed by Christian
Gobrecht?
Suspension
of silver dollar coinage
was lifted in 1831,
however, not until 1835
were steps taken to resume
coinage. Late in
that year, Director R.M.
Patterson instructed
Engraver Christian
Gobrecht to prepare a pair
of dies from designs by
Thomas Sully and Titian
Peale. The first
obverse die bore the
seated figure of Liberty
on the obverse with the
inscription C. Gobrecht F.
(F. representing the Latin
Fecit or "made
it") below the base
of Liberty. On the
reverse was a large eagle
flying left surrounded by
twenty-six stars and the
legend AMERICA ONE
DOLLAR. Public
criticism forced
Gobrecht's name to be
moved to the base of
Liberty on the new die
and, with this, pieces
were struck in late 1836
on the 1792 standard of
416 grains.
In
early 1837 the weight was
lowered to 412 1/2 grains
and pieces were struck on
the new standard in Marh
1837, using the dies of
1836. To distinguish
the 1837 coinage from that
of 1836, the reverse die
was oriented in
"medal" fashion.
Between
1855 and 1860, the Mint
produced restrikes to
satisfy collector
demands. Mules
(mismatched combinations
of dies) were also struck
in the 1850s and are
rare. Restrikes and
mules are seldom seen in
worn condition.
Starting
in 1840, silver dollars
were issued for general
circulation, but by spring
1853 the silver content of
such pieces was worth more
than the face value, and
later issues were not seen
in circulation but were
used mainly in export
trade. This
situation continued
through the late
1860s. The seated
figure of Liberty device
was adopted for the
obverse, but the flying
eagle design was rejected
in favor of the more
familiar form with olive
branch and arrows used for
the other silver
denominations.
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